Why Bank your Stem Cells?

According the National Academies of Sciences, for over the last 40 years, doctors have been using adult stem cells - the active agents in a bone marrow transplant - to treat leukemia, anemia, blood cancer and immune system dysfunctions. Within the last decade scientists have discovered that stem cells circulating in your peripheral blood, and an infant's umbilical cord blood, are as powerful as those found in bone marrow. Today, cord blood stem cells are more commonly used for therapeutic treatment than bone marrow because they are easier to harvest and can be readily stored in liquid nitrogen for long periods of time.¹⁰ The same will likely be true for stem cells from peripheral blood.

Advances in immunology, regenerative medicine, and genomic research have stimulated an unprecedented surge in adult stem cell research. There are over 700 adult stem cell therapeutic clinical trials in progress in the U.S. alone. As these therapies are approved, there will be a tremendous demand for adult stem cells. Public stem cells banks store processed cord blood which is made available after matching for allogeneic transplants (refers to using cells from others). If everyone in the U.S. were to need - or want - only one stem cell therapeutic treatment there would only be enough stem cells for 5% of the population today. Even if the government doubled their funding for public adult stem cell banking it would take over 5 years to build up a supply for 10 % of the population.¹¹ Note: for some diseases it is necessary to use allogeneic cells as the DNA in your own cells is defective and may result in a relapse of the condition for which you are being treated.

The only way to assure that you have a supply of adult stem cells when you need them is to bank you and your family's autologous cells (your own personal stem cells). Not only does this assure you of a source - it assures you of a match. When stem cell banks look for a "match" for a stem cell transplant they are only looking to match 6 key points on the stem cells to your cells. Beyond that, there is little likelihood that you will find the dozens of additional similarities that are important. That is why a patient who has an allogeneic transplant - the cells of others - must take immunosuppressant drugs to minimize the risk of rejection and Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD); an overwhelming and devastating immunological reaction where the alien cells transplanted mount an attack on the body. The reaction can be chronic or acute and can be fatal¹². For more information on Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) visit http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic893.htm

Generally your cells will have to be proliferated or multiplied to achieve therapeutic levels. There are a variety of approaches for doing that today inside or outside of the body - with many more being evaluated in ongoing clinical trials.

Where applicable, the most natural and effective therapies will use your own autologous cells as the basis for truly personalized treatment for disease and increasingly to sustain and improve vitality as you age. Banking your stem cells and your family's stem cells is becoming as important as health and life insurance - consider it bioinsurance.

Why Your Own Adult Stem Cells?

You should choose your own because you want the best chance for success in your stem cell therapy. Public banks collect and offer allogeneic stem cells - the cells from strangers. Private banks like AssureImmune collect and store autologous stem cells - your own cells. By definition, the allogeneic cells are genetically different. You must search for a "match" before you can safely use allogeneic stem cells. Even with a "match" the cells are identified as foreign by your body. You must take immunosuppressant drugs, often for life, after a treatment with allogeneic stem cells and are at risk of having the cells rejected or attacked by the body - a process which can result in death. These stem cell therapy issues can affect the success of the stem cell transplant procedure. In certain diseases, it may be advisable to use allogeneic stem cells for the treatment where defects in your DNA may put you at risk of a recurrence of disease

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Why Your Family’s Stem Cells?

Autologous stem cells are always a perfect match for you, right down to your DNA. In addition, your family members share the same genetic and immunological factors often allowing family members to share their cells. You have a 30% chance of finding a perfect match to your own cells from family members. Autologous stem cell transplantation improves the chances for successes in many stem cell therapies. There is also little risk of ancillary disease when you know where your stem cells come from. Science cannot test for all potential pathogens, viruses, etc.

If you use cells from non-family members - allogeneic - you have <50% chance of finding cells that match six antigens on your cells. This degree of matching is sufficient to enable engraftment in most cases, but it is not close enough to prevent Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD); an overwhelming immunological "defense" against the alien transplanted cells. To prevent this, you must take immunosuppressant drugs, sometimes for life, which leaves you more susceptible to disease and infection. The other stem cell therapy issue to consider is that allogeneic cells banks take an average of 4 months to find a match for people. If your medical need is urgent, you may not find cells in time for effective treatment. For ethnic or racial minority groups, the chances of finding matching stem cells drop to less than 10%.¹³

The following chart highlights the significant therapeutic and financial differences between patients using their own stem cells vs. donor cells. Where applicable a patient using their own cells will have a simpler, less costly and more effective experience than if they were to undergo the same therapeutic process with allogeneic donor cells.

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Why Your Newborn’s Stem Cells?

Umbilical cord blood is a rich source of adult stem cells. Currently, approximately 10% of newborns are now saving their stem cells in the United States. It is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta after a baby is born and is a rich source of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells - more concentrated than in adult blood. These stem cells are usually referred to as neonatal stem cells and are less mature than the stem cells found in the bone marrow of adults or children.¹⁴ That means that newborn stem cells have the potential to differentiate in to many more cell types than older adult stem cells. Increasingly families are investing to store their newborn's cord blood both for the child's benefit and the benefit of the entire family.

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